LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eric Deacon was paying for his groceries Wednesday afternoon at a Kroger store in Kentucky when he heard "a loud bang." It sounded like a wood pallet slamming to the floor.

That's when he saw a man in a neon sweatshirt racing past him, firing a gun back toward another man who was chasing him. Deacon hit the ground, and soon the men were shooting back and forth at each other in the parking lot.

"About that time, a lady came around the corner and got hit," said Deacon, an emergency medical technician who shielded himself from gunfire in the front of the store behind a wall as he dialed 911.

After police arrived, Deacon went over to administer CPR to the woman.

"When I looked at her, she was gone," he said. "There was nothing I could do."

The violence that unfolded Wednesday at a Kroger grocery store in a busy shopping center in Jeffersontown left two people dead, a suspect in custody and police searching for a motive.

Shortly before 3 p.m. EDT, the suspect – who has not been identified – entered Kroger and shot a man inside, then fled to the parking lot and shot a woman, Jeffersontown Police Chief Sam Rogers said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect also exchanged gunfire with an armed citizen in the parking lot, but neither was shot nor wounded, according to police. Deacon said police arrived and confronted one of the men, who dropped his gun and got on the ground.

The male suspect was caught by police a short time later in "close proximity" to the Louisville-area store. Some witnesses pointed to a Honda surrounded by police tape and cruisers nearby.

Elaine Harrell was in the produce department asking an employee where she could find Northern beans for her white chili recipe when she heard loud noises and then people screaming and shouting.

She ran – with her cart – out of the front door along with other panicked shoppers.

Outside, she stood and tried to comfort a distraught Kroger employee. But then, she said, she heard the shooting start again outside in the parking lot and ran back inside.

After police had secured the scene, Racheal Huggins showed up to find her daughter, a store employee. Her daughter had taken shelter in a dressing room and was talking to her on her cellphone before they lost contact. "She could hear the shots," said Huggins, who found her daughter safe.

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Tim King said his wife was in the Kroger store when she heard shots fired. King said his wife is safe.
Louisville Courier Journal

Kroger released a statement saying it is "shocked and saddened by the shooting incident that occurred around 2:30 p.m." It said Kroger is cooperating with law enforcement and that the store is closed and will reopen after the investigation concludes.

Wednesday evening, police continued to investigate, and the parking lot remained bound by yellow police tape. Employees at nearby stores shared stories of seeing gunfire, worried phone calls from relatives and a body being hauled away.

Deacon said he, too, doesn't know what could have motivated the shooting.

"I just know the look on that guy's face. It was like a blank stare ... like he didn't have a care in the world," he said. "I never thought this would happen in J-town. I never thought."

Police mark evidence in the parking lot of a Jeffersontown Kroger on Thursday afternoon after a shooting where multiple people were injured. Police reported two people were killed. Oct. 24, 2018 Matt Stone, Courier Journal

A police officer walks by a gun which lies on the ground outside a Jeffersontown Kroger Wednesday afternoon after a shooting with 'multiple injuries' was reported. One body was observed on the parking lot. Police later reported two people had died. Oct. 24, 2018 Matt Stone,Courier Journal

A gun lies on the ground outside a Jeffersontown Kroger Wednesday afternoon after a shooting with 'multiple injuries' was reported. One body was observed on the parking lot. Oct. 24, 2018 Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal

A woman looks away as she stands next to a police officer as bullet casings lay in the parking lot of a Jeffersontown Kroger on Thursday afternoon after a shooting where multiple people were injured. Police say two people were killed. Oct. 24, 2018 Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal